The Ghost and Bridget

"What the..." Derek's eyes widened as he heard the opening of the soft prayer. His once smug demeanor began radiating anger and fear. As soon as he realized what was happening he'd dug in his hold on Bridget. He was not going to let her go. He heard her begin to mumble the words to the prayer that she didn't even know. They were jumbled and meaningless but to his horror, they had the same power as the spoken ones that she mimicked. "NO!" He screamed and tried to distract her by stimulating her like he had been doing, but if she felt it, it wasn't working. He struggled harder when she rose to her knees and he could feel her pushing and fighting against him. "I will NOT let you go!" He screamed in her.

His relief came with the ending of the prayer. "Ha, it didn't work! You lost! You'll always lose!" He began to strengthen his hold again, but his fear came back stronger than his anger when she asked for the prayer to be said again. "Shit!" Again he felt her pushing him out and she was growing stronger. He looked over at Brian, who had almost pulled completely free of his body but now had stopped struggling. "There's no going back, you've pulled out too far! You're dead."

Suddenly a rush of wind coursed through the area. Nothing blew around, but Derek could hear it. Both him and Brian turned when what appeared to be a mist moved into the area in a very deliberate manor. It headed straight for Derek and Bridget first, winding around their feet, then spreading out to the officers who stood next to Bridget. He felt it pull at his feet. "No!" Derek cried when he heard Bridget plead with the officer for another repeat. He felt too weak to hold on and this mist's influence grew as it surrounded him. Soon he and Bridget were completely engulfed. "I don't WANT to go!" Derek held on with all his might, but wasn't strong engough. With a sudden pop, Derek lost his contact with her and was being sucked into the heart of the mist.

He frantically looked over to Brian and got some satisfaction when he saw that the mist had entwined itself around the paramedics that were working on Bridget's boy toy. As soon as the mist had appeared, it looked like Brian had begun the painful struggle of pushing back into his body. "You'll never get back in time!" Derek chided. "I've won! You're dead and Bridget will be tormented for the rest of her life." He smirked when Brian cast him a fearful glare but continued fighting, even as the mist rose around him. Derek's hateful laugh was cut short when he felt himself floating, his essence began to dissolve and evaporate, then he blinked and all consciousness vanished.

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Bridget's tears began to flow harder as the third prayer was reaching it's end. "Please, Brian! Fight!" She whispered. In the time that it took for her to fight off Derek, the medics had been very busy doing their part to save him. One had an IV's started and medications push into his patients veins. Another medic was breathing for him, and a third was doing chest compressions. They kept looking at each other, truly believing that their efforts were hopeless but needing to try everything they could. The spoken prayer had added an extra solemnness to the air and it seemed that even the nature around them was silent.

"Forever, Amen." The last amen was said quietly and with a finality that had the medics slow their administrations.

The one who was in charge sat back on his heels and took a breath. "Stop CPR." With a deliberate effort, all activity ceased. The medic looked over to the three standing to the side of them. "I'm sorry."

"No." Bridget began to sob. Damn you Derek! And damn me. It's my fault. He shouldn't be dead. She again felt her knees weaken, the officer was there to hold her up. The other officer, who had been saying the prayer, put his cross away and went over and began unfolding a blanket that had been brought down, with the intent to cover his friend.

Beep. "What was that?!" The medics, who had begun pulling their equipment together, stopped. Beep.

Bridget's blurry eyes followed the rest of the group to the monitor lying on the dirty blanket next to Brian. The device beeped again. "There's activity!" One of the Paramedics unnecessarily announced. In a flash they were working again. Bridget almost passed out with hope. Please, please, please. "He's breathing. Vitals are getting stronger." He stood. "Get him in the stokes and lets get him out of here! Now! I want to be one our way if he crashes again."

"Well, I'll be damned." The officer holding her up whispered.

She looked up at him. "No." She sniffled. "I've encountered the damned. I seriously doubt it."

He looked at her oddly while she watched Brian secured for the journey up the hill. When she made to follow, he stopped her. "I know this has been hard, but I have to ask you a few questions about the body over there."

Bridget froze inside and her mind worked to come up with an answer he would believe. She wiped at her eyes and sniffled, trying to stall so she wouldn't screwup any of her story. Would he believe the story that she had initially told Brian? She looked around to see if anything had changed to make him question her. "He...ah...was a friend of mine from town. He...um...used to work at a bar that I would go to. When he stopped showing up to work, I got concerned and asked around. I found out that he had a place out here. I didn't know what we would find, so I asked Br...Deputy Anderson to come with me to check on him." She paused as he scribbled information down and waited for him to indicate for her to continue. "We saw some tracks leading this way from the trailer and figured that he must have taken his motor bike out for a ride."

The officer stopped her. "Why didn't you two wait for morning and go out with the rest of the search party?"

"That was my idea. He wanted to wait, but I was so worried. I begged him to go out and search for as long as we could. We saw a reflection in the ravine and was trying to get as close to it as we could before we got out to walk, but something happened. We must have hit a rut or something and the next thing I knew we were rolling down the hill. Bri...Deputy Anderson was hurt. I helped him out the car and tried calling for help but no one answered." She stopped when the medics started pulling Brian up the hill. "I want to go with him."

The officer shook his head and continued writing. "You can't go in the helicopter. We'll follow to the hospital once we finish here."

She nodded, hoping that he was believing her story. It wasn't too far off the truth, she just hoped that, like Brian, he didn't sense that she was holding back. "He was hurt and it was dark, so we tried to make the best of it. I cleaned him up and spent the night trying to keep him awake. I knew he had a head injury and that he shouldn't sleep until he got checked." She felt her cheeks go warm, thinking about how she'd kept him awake. She hoped that the officer didn't notice. "When morning came, we waited, but it seemed like no one was coming, so he promised me that he'd stay awake while I went to see if I could find anyone from the search party. And that's when I ran into you two."

He took a moment to finish writing then looked her up and down, making her very uncomfortable. Did he see her blush? "Where's your clothes?

She froze. She'd forgotten that she was wearing Brian's oversized sweats and shirt. She blinked a few times. "Um. They were torn...in the accident."

His demeanor changed somewhat at what he sensed was a lie. "Really? All your clothes just ripped right off of you?"

Fear gripped her. "Yes. Well, not all of them, but they were torn up pretty bad."

"Are you hurt? Such trauma that would tear clothing, would leave some serious marks." He crossed his arms, all the compassion from a few minutes ago falling away.

She crossed her arms. "What are you suggesting?"

"I'm only asking questions and some of your answers aren't adding up. He had a really bad head injury, you've both been out here all night, your wearing his clothes. I'm not saying that he meant to do anything, I'm just asking if there's anything I need to know. And I haven't even got to the body on the ground over there. If this 'Derek' that was missing was riding a motorbike, where is it? And you two just 'happened' to land right on top of it."

Bridget tried not to keep her emotions in check. If she became flustered, who knew where this would lead. "I told you. Look." She lowered her waistband and showed the officer the bruises that she had shown Brian the previous day, hoping that he would believe they were from the accident. She then lifted her shirt and showed him some of the scraps and and bruises that actually were from the accident. She didn't show him the ones that Derek had made on her breasts. She had a suspicion about where the officer was going with his questioning and it didn't bode well for Brian if someone suggested that he had forced himself on her, head injury or not. And now she was getting pissed off that someone would think that he would do such a thing. She'd only known Brian for a day and would never even consider it.

She now looked up at the officer with fire in her eyes. She had to nip this in the ass right now. "My clothes were torn and when I helped Deputy Anderson out of the car he bled all over me." She didn't yell but she let him know that he'd made her mad. "He gave me some clothes, I changed into them and used mine to help clean his wounds." She pointed at him, sternly. "He did NOTHING to harm me and I won't have you even insinuating such a thing." Then she pointed at the body. "And as for the body, we got out of the car and there it was. We were out here looking for the guy." She continued to glare at him, just daring to her to say anything about her story.

He pushed her pointing finger down gently. "I meant no disrespect."

"Good." With a final glare, she turned and trudged up the hill. "Now please take me to the hospital."

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The ICU smelled like cleaner and shit. Bridget knew that while personnel tried to keep it as sterile as possible, the smells that wafted from some of the patient's rooms took a time to dissipate. It was over hour hours before she got to the hospital. The trip back to the trailer was taken more slowly since there wasn't the life and death rush of earlier. Then she had to wait for the officers to update the search party that had met there. The trip back to her car was just as long and then she had to drive into town. When she did get to the hospital, she was unable to get any information on him because she wasn't family and because he was an officer, they wouldn't even acknowledge that he was even there. She had to use the number on the card the interrogating officer had given her to get permission to see him. She was told that he was doing very well and the only reason he was in the ICU was because of how close he had come to dying. They wanted to watch him for a day or so, then if the concussion didn't prove to be a problem, he could be moved to another room until the doctors felt it would be okay for him to go home.

When she finally got to the room, it was obvious that Brian was sleeping. There were other people in the room also. She told them who she was and they introduced themselves as his family. Mother, father, and two sisters that he'd told her about the previous night but she hadn't remembered their names. They were very pleasant and she could see where Brian got him mannerisms and looks. He looked a lot like his father, but had his mothers eyes.

She explained to them briefly about what happened. At least what the official version would be. She gave them her number and asked them to call her if there was any change in his condition, but she really didn't want to stay. The wait to see him had given her time to think. Brian and her had shared an intense experience. He'd been hurt and she'd taken advantage of that. The more she thought about it, the more guilty she felt. Once he woke up and realized that they were no longer in danger and he had time to think straight himself, she was sure that he'd come to the same conclusion and realize that a relationship with her would be a waste of time. She'd heard of people who would develop a relationship during times of stress and it never worked out.

She gave one of many tired sighs as she left the hospital. She knew that she needed to go to the police station at some point and fill out an official statement, but they said she could do it later. She just wanted to go home, get some sleep and have everything go back to normal, She needed normal. Derek had thrown everything into a tailspin. It was hard to believe that it had only been three days.

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She unlocked her door and pushed. It was harder to push than normal, but it slid open. The sight that met her was deflating. He apartment was trashed and her hate for Derek began to rise again. Everything that could break was broken. If it could be ripped it was ripped. All her clothes, the furniture. Holes in the walls. She was never going to get her deposit back if she decided to move someday. Even the sunshine coming through the sliding door that led to the balcony was fractured from the cracks in the glass.

She shuffle through the destruction and found every room in the same condition. She'd planned on going back to work the next day, but knew that this was going to take longer to clean up. She was happy now that she'd saved up so much time off.

She needed a shower, so she she found a few articles of clothes that had escaped the worse of the damage, put two pieces of towel on the counter and turned on the water. While it heated up, she stripped and looked at herself in the mirror. Her body was bruised from Derek's assaults and the accident. She also had a multitude of bruises and cuts from their ride down the ravine and would probably need a few psychotherapy sessions, but when she thought about how things could have worked out, she was happy to just be alive. She shook her head wondering what a counseling session would be like. Well, I was assaulted by a ghost, who I then had to track down and have a total stranger drag a dead body down a ravine to save me from being killed by said ghost. Oh yeah, that won't land me on a serious drug protocol.

With a yawn, she got into the shower and soaked up the heat, letting it sooth her sore muscles. She almost anticipated an intimate touch and found herself sighing in relief when there was none. He was really gone. The water eventually turned cool and she got out and dressed. She stumbled tiredly into the kitchen. All the food had been pulled from the refrigerator and cupboards so it was easy to find something to eat. She heated up some soup and was soon crawling into the shredded bed. It should have made her mad but she didn't care right then. With her pillows in pieces around the room, she took what was left of the comforter, flopped down and was asleep before the covers warmed around her.

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The next two days were busy, catching up on sleep and cleaning her apartment. The only thing that broke up the project was a trip to the police station to give an official account of her night in the desert and a trip to the store for food and a new music player to help her lift her mood while she cleaned. She called it cleaning, but mostly she just threw her possessions away since not much could be fixed.

She had just got ready for bed and was unwinding with some music and making a list of new purchases to be made when she was surprised by the doorbell. She thought about not answering it, but they were persistent. With a sigh, (she seemed to be doing that a lot lately) she went to the door. "Who is it?"

"Someone who wants to talk to you."

She paused before opening the door using it to hide the fact that she was dressed in her night clothes. The first thing she noticed was the bruises on his face and the white bandage on his head. Then she noticed that he'd cleaned up and looked so sexy leaning against the door jam. She quickly shook herself out of such thoughts and was going to ask him how he knew where she lived but she knew that was a really dumb question. "What are you doing here?" She saw him cringe and lowered her voice. "You're supposed to be in the hospital."

He stood straight but kept a supporting hand on the jam "I was, but I really hate hospitals and they said as long as I rest and have someone wake me up every few hours to check on me, I could leave."

She gave him a stern look. "Really." He was either a terrible liar or he didn't care that she could tell.

He gave a half smile. "Yes." He looked at the door. "Can I come in?"

She thought of the skimpy clothes she was in and moved behind the door more. "It's late and I'm not really dressed for company."

He chucked. " So....you're modest?"

She looked at the floor, sighed and opened the door farther for him.

He stepped in and looked around at the bare walls and couch that were about the only things in the front room. "You really live simple." The holes still in the walls and broken glass door was not lost on h im either.

She snorted. "Yeah, my weekend roommate didn't like how I decorated. You should have seen it when I got home." She changed the subject when she saw his eyes following her curves. "I can't believe they let you leave." She led him to the couch and he sat. "I mean, you almost died."

He tilted his head. "It's not a prison. Not much they could do.." He shifted and drilled her with a look that told her he was serious. "Why didn't you visit?"

She fidgeted. "I did. A little after they brought you in. I even met your family." She had hoped the he would have come to the same conclusion as she had about their short relationship. "Brian...I'm sorry, but I don't think...I mean, I know we said some stuff the other night. Things were really crazy. You know? I mean, I like you and all, but relationships started like this rarely make it." He just stared at her. "The excitement of the situation, the danger. I just don't know if we should pursue it, or hold anyone to what was said. You understand?" He watched her fidget, and it made her uncomfortable. "Well?"

He sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and she could see that his eyes were tired and not a little bloodshot. "I think that's bullshit." Her brows went together. "You're afraid. You said it in the ravine and now you're letting it make you back away." He reached forward and took her hand, guiding her to the couch and she sat next to him. "I didn't offer you a proper date because we had sex. I felt something the second I came around the porch and saw you. Even if we had never had that accident and got stuck in that ravine, I would have still asked you out. Of course, you would have said no, but now...you owe me." He smiled smugly at her.

She leaned back, unsure of how to respond to such a statement. "I owe you." She said it as a question but knew that he was right.

"Yup. So, if you won't go out with me because you like me, then I expect at least an 'owe you' date." He leaned back on the couch again and watched her.

It took a while but she slowly nodded. She couldn't believe that this was happening. Then she looked at him seriously. "Do you think he's really gone?"

He took her hands. "Yes, he is." At her look of confusion, he continued. "I died."

"I know. It was horrible. I thought I killed you." She gripped his hand at the memory.

"I tried to stay awake, but as soon as I fell asleep, somehow he was able to drag me too deep. I could see all of you. The medics, my friends and Derek. When Bret started praying, it was like a flood opened up and this mist came in and it drug him away. I don't know what happened to him. I really didn't watch, all I remember after that was trying to keep from being taken with him. Then, I was waking up in the helicopter."